Method of making a bicycle seat and resulting product

ABSTRACT

A method of making a bicycle seat including the steps of providing a rigid base; providing a top assembly having a toppiece of a lightweight flexible vinyl and having an edge portion around the periphery thereof, providing a continuous side formed of a vinyl substantially stiffer than said lightweight flexible vinyl, heat-sealing said continuous side to said lightweight flexible vinyl along said edge portion to establish a covering and securing said covering to said base by attaching said continuous side to said base. A bicycle seat having a rigid base, a top assembly having a toppiece of a lightweight flexible vinyl, a continuous side of a vinyl that is substantially stiffer than said lightweight flexible vinyl, said side being bonded to said top assembly and being attached to said rigid base.

O United States Patent H 1 3,586,369

[72] Inventor George W. Worley FOREIGN PATENTS Bolivar Tenn- 937,573l/l956 Germany 297/l95 No' 968 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Divisionor Ser. No. 646,189. June I5. 1967. walker, [45] Patented June 22, 1971[73] Assignce Troxel Manufacturing Company Moscow, Tenn.

ABSTRACT: A method of making a bicycle seat including the steps ofproviding a rigid base; providing a top assembly hav- METHOD OF MAKING ABICYCLE SEAT AND ing a toppiece of a lightweight flexible vinyl andhaving an RESULTING PRODUCT edge portion around the periphery thereof,providing a con- 2 C'aims Drawing Figg tmuous side formed of a vinylsubstantially stiffer than said lightweight flexible vinyl, heat-sealingsaid continuous side to [52] [1.8- CI 297/195 aid lightweight flexiblevinyl along said edge portion 10 [5 l 1 int. Cl establish a covering andsecuring said covering to said base by [50] Field 0f Search 297/ l 95,afl'aghing aid continuous side to said base 361 A bicycle seat having arigid base, a top assembly having a top iece of a lightwei ht flexiblevin l, a continuous side of a [56] Rem-mes Cited vinyl that is substantilly stiffer than said lightweight flexible UNITED STATES PATENTS vinyl,said side being bonded to said top assembly and being 3,451,075 6/1969Woodward 5/355 attached to Said rig baSe- PATENTED JUN22 I971 SHEET 2 BF2 INVENTOR. RGE W. WORLE' Y METHOD OF MAKING A BICYCLE SEAT ANDRESULTING PRODUCT This is a division of application Ser. No. 646,289,filed June 15, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention Method of makingbicycle seats and product thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art First, for purposes of clarity and todefine the terminology used herein, it should be pointed out that abicycle seat normally includes an exterior portion that covers a rigidsteel base. The exterior portion will be referred to herein as thecovering and it includes the top portion and sides. There have beencertain problems with prior bicycle seats in which the covering wasformed of plastic. For example, in one type of bicycle seat the plasticcovering has been of an integral piece of material, that is, the top andside portions have been made of one piece, with the integral piece beingof a relatively thin plastic. With this type of structure there havebeen problems in attaching the flexible covering to the base. This hasbeen a relatively expensive manufacturing process and one means has beento provide a piece of material that covers the underside of the base andto whichtthe lower peripheral edges of the single piece of plastic isanchored as by stitching. With this type of saddle, when plastic wasused that had ribs or a quilted type of appearance, since the plasticwas a single piece of material, the quilted appearance was necessarilycarried around the top and sides. In addition, with this relatively thinand flexible plastic less expensive types of attachments such asriveting could not be used to attach the piece of plastic to the rigidbase. Also, emblems, designs, etc., could not be attached to theflexible plastic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towardsovercoming the heretofore-mentioned and other problems in prior bicycleseats. Thus, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide amethod for forming a bicycle seat in which the covering is formed byproviding a vinyl toppiece, providing the sides of the covering ofanother piece of vinyl, and heatsealing the sides to the top. Anotherconcept of the present invention is to form the toppiece of alightweight flexible vinyl and to form the sides of a relatively stiffvinyl, which can then be riveted to the rigid metal base. This providesa product which is improved in appearance, which is economical tomanufacture, which has sides that gives support to the flexible top,which can be used more advantageously as for example, by attachingemblems, designs, etc., thereto, and which can be utilized to provideonly a quilted portion on the top of the saddle with the sides remainingsmooth. Another concept in the improved method of the present inventionis to provide steps in the method thereof for aligning the various partswith one another so that a very neat appearing and accurately formedbicycle seat can be provided.

In general, the method of the present invention contemplates making abicycle seat from a relatively lightweight flexible vinyl, a vinylbackup material, a stiffsupported vinyl, quilting medium, and a metalbase; comprising the steps of cutting said lightweight flexible vinyl,said backup material, said stiff supporting vinyl and said quiltedmedium to provide a pair of sidepieces formed of said stiff supportedvinyl, a backup piece formed of said vinyl backup material, a quiltingmedium piece, and a toppiece larger in size than each of said backuppiece and said quilted medium piece; heat-sealing the opposite ends ofsaid sidepieces together to establish a continuous side; heatsealingsaid backup piece, said quilting medium piece and said toppiece togetherto form a top assembly with said quilting medium piece between saidtoppiece and said backup piece and with said top piece extending beyondthe edges of said quilted medium piece and said backup piece to providean edge portion of said top piece around the periphery of said topassembly; heat-sealing said continuous side to said edge portion of saidtoppiece to establish a covering and riveting said covering to said baseto provide said bicycle seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a schematic view of thedie-cutting step of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one of the pair of vinyl sidepieces after thediecutting step has been performed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the other of the pair of sidepieces after thediecutting step has been performed.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are plan viewsof the components of the top assemblybefore assembly.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the apparatus used to heat seal the endsof the sidepieces to establish the continuous side, and showing thisstep in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the above-mentioned'continuous sideafter being heat-sealed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the apparatus used to heat-seal the topassembly and showing this step in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the holder of the apparatus of FIG. 9.

FIG. II is an enlarged perspective view of the top assembly after thestep shown in FIG. 9 has been completed.

FIG. 12 is a further enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of thetop assembly of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the apparatus used to heatseal the topassembly and the continuous side showing this step in the method of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the holder portion of the apparatus of FIG.13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the holder portion showing thecontinuous side in place on the holder and showing the positioning blockready to be put into place.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the holder showing the top assembly inplace thereon.

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of the completed bicycle seat whichhas been made in accordance with 'the present method.

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the bicycle seat of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken as on the lineXIX-XIX of FIG. 18.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The bicycle seat 11 of thepresent invention comprises in general a covering 13, a rigid metal base15, and if desired, a suitable resilient pad I7, formed of spongerubber, plastic or the like interposed between the top surface 19 ofbase 15 and covering 13. The metal base 15 is preferably formed bywellknown methods and is of a shape corresponding to the particularshape of the bicycle seat to be made. For example, to make the elongatedtype of bicycle seat shown in FIGS. 17-19, the base 15 in plan isgenerally oblong, is somewhat pointed at one end and has a dependingskirt 21 around the periphery thereof in the usual manner. In addition,base 15 is provided with apertures 22 in spaced-apart relationshiparound depending skirt 21 for the reception of rivets 25 to holdcovering 13 in place, as will be more apparent in the description tofollow later in the specification.

To form covering 13 the various components thereof shown in FIGS. 2-6are first provided, namely, the pair of sidepieces 2323, backup piece27, quilting piece 29, and toppiece 31, respectively. The componentsshown in FIGS. 2-6 are preferably provided from sheets of material as bydiecutting, by suitable means as the diecutting apparatus 33, of knownconstruction shown schematically in FIG. 1.

The pair of sidepieces 23, 23' are formed from a relatively stiffsupported vinyl, as for example, in the range of 0.040 to 0.060 inches.The outline shape of the sidepieces 23, 23 correspond to the desiredshape of the rightand left-hand sides of the finished bicycle seat 11,and in diecutting a plurality of apertures 35, 35' are respectivelyprovided along the edges 37, 37' of the respective side pieces 23, 23'.In addition, a plurality of apertures 36, 36 are respectively providedin sidepieces 23, 23' adjacent the edges thereof opposite from edges 37,37. It will be noted that the edges 37, 37 are the ones which will beadjacent the upper edge of the seat when the sides are in the assembledseat, as will be later described. In addition, a plurality of slits ornotches 39, 39' are provided respectively along the edges 37, 37 so thatwhen the sidepieces 23, 23 are bonded to the other portions of thecovering 13, as will be hereinafter described, the bonding is smooth andthe upper edges 37, 37' can conform to the shape of the covering 13.Also, it will be understood that notches 39, 39' facilitate folding.

The rearward ends 41,41 respectively of sidepieces 23, 23' and theforward ends 43, 43' respectively of the sidepieces are bonded togetherby heat-sealing to form the loop or continuous side 45 shown in FIG. 8.The means for heat-sealing the ends of continuous side 45 is preferablyby the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 which is of that known general typewhich utilizes high frequency radio waves. Thus, for example, theapparatus 47 shows a source of radio energy as at 49 that is connectedto the movable head 51 of the apparatus 47 by the conduetor 53 and tothe stationary base 55 of the apparatus 47 by conductor 57. The base 55has a cavity 59 for receiving the sidepieces 23, 23' to be bondedtogether. The pieces 23, 23 are placed in the cavity with the facestogether which will be the ultimate exterior faces in the finishedproduct. The head 51 carries electrodes 61, 61' and the head isreciprocated by suitable means as the arm 63 attached to a suitablereciprocating mechanism, not shown. Thus, the head 51 is moveddownwardly until the electrodes 61, 61 contact the press downwardly onthe ends of the sidepieces 23, 23'. Then, the radio energy is caused topass therethrough to heat the vinyl and cause heat-sealing or bindingthereof along the lines 65, 65'. It will be understood that the brokenline representation of the head 51 in FIG. 7 is the head in the downwardposition and the solid line representation shows the head in the upwardposition. It will further be understood that either the stationary base55 or the head 51 can act as the ground and the other can act as theantenna of the radiofrequency waves so that there is a passage of theradiofrequency through the sidepieces 23, 23' as above-described. Afterheat-sealing the ends of pieces 23, 23' as above-described to form thecontinuous side one end. The quilting medium 29 is of substantially thesame size and shape as the backup piece 27. The quilting medium piece 29is formed of a suitable heat-scalable quilting medium, as for example,'aheat-sealable foam, such as heat-scalable acetate foam, heat-scalablevinyl foam or heat-scalable urethane foam. The toppiece 31 is of thegeneral shape of pieces 27, 29 except that it is substantially larger sothat when the pieces 27, 29 are assembled therewith as will behereinafter described, to form the top assembly 67, an edge portion 69of the toppiece 31 will be exposed around the periphery thereof, as bestseen in FIG. 11. In addition, in the diecutting, tabs 71 are providedadjacent the four corners of the piece 31 and apertures 73 are providedtherethrough for a purpose later to be described. The material fromwhich toppiece 31 is formed is a lightweight flexible supported vinyl,which, for example, could be in the order of 0.025 to 0.030 inches.

Next, the top assembly 67 is formed from the components 27, 29, 31 bybonding or heat-sealing the components along the spaced-apart lines 75and with the pieces 27, 29 in alignment with one another and centrallyof toppiece 31 to expose the edge portion 69 with the quilting mediumpiece 29 between backup piece 27 and toppiece 31 as best seen in FIGS.11 and 12. It will be understood that the top assembly 67 as shown inFIG. 11 is upside down and normally when assembled with the remainder ofthe bicycle seat, the toppiece 31 will be on top, as best seen in FIGS.17-19. The heat-sealing of the top assembly 67 along the lines 75 ispreferably done by means of apparatus 77 similar to apparatus 47 exceptthat the electrodes 79 are spaced along the head 81 to correspond to thespaced-apart lines 75. Also, the base 83 has a stepped cavity 85 with acentral portion 87 thereof to receive backup 27 in the bottom thereofand next the quilting medium piece 29. A plurality of blocklike members89 are provided around the periphery of the cavity to establish thestep. In other words, the inner ends 91 of the blocks 89 contact andform the locating means for the peripheral edges of the backup piece 27and quilted medium piece 29. The tops 93 of the blocks 89 provide aplace for the toppiece 31 to rest thereon and the outer wall 95 of thecavity 85 provides the means to engage and locate the outer periphery ofthe toppiece 31. In addition, cutout portions 97 are provided to receivethe tabs 71. In the heat-sealing step above-described there is fusionbetween the three components 27, 29 and 31 along the line 75, as bestseen in FIG. 12. This causes the toppiece 31 to have a quiltedappearance with transverse protrusions 99 being formed between the lines75 as will best be seen in FIGS. 17 and 18. Piece 31 will maintain thisquilted appearance indefinitely despite continual pressing down on thetop thereof when the rider uses the seat. The resiliency of the vinyl ofthe toppiece 31 and the quilting medium piece 29 causes this quiltedappearance to be maintained.

Next, the edge portion 69 of the top assembly 67 is bonded orheat-sealed to the continuous side 45 adjacent the edges 37, 37 toestablish the covering 13. This heat-sealing is done with the covering13 turned wrong side out and is done along a line 101 that extendscompletely around the covering 13 so that when the covering is turnedright side out the bonding line 101 will be on the inside of the coverand a smooth joint 103 will be apparent on the outside thereof which ispleasing in appearance. One of the important features of the presentinvention is the aligning of the two components, that is, the continuousside 45 and the top assembly 67 during the heat-sealing. It can beappreciated that if such an alignment were not substantially exact, thatthe covering 13 would not be uniformly and correctly formed. Thus, themeans for holding the continuous side 45 in alignment with top assembly67 is preferably by a holder 105, as best seen in FIGS. 14-16. Holder105 includes an upstanding continuous wall 106 that extends around apath that is substantially the shape of the top of the seat to beformed. The top edge 107 of the wall 106 forms the ground or oneelectrode of the heat-sealing apparatus 110 which is similar to thepreviously described heat-sealing apparatuses 47, 77. A plurality ofupstanding pins 109 are rigidly supported from wall 106 by brackets 111in spaced-apart relationship around the edge 107 but spaced outwardlytherefrom. The pins 109 are spaced-apart to correspond to the holes 35,35 in continuous side 45. The continuous side 45 is placed on holder 105with the pins 109 extending through the holes 35, 35', as best seen inFIG. 15. Next, a mandrel 113 which is of the same shape as wall 106 andslightly smaller than the inside surface thereof is placed down into theholder 105 to hold the continuous side 45 downwardly and closelyadjacent the wall 106. Mandrel 113 is provided with spacers 115 on thebottom thereof upon which the main body of the mandrel rests. Inaddition, the mandrel 113 is preferably provided with ahole 117 tofacilitate placing the removal of the mandrel by hand. Then, with thecontinuous side 45 in place, as above-described, the top assembly 67 isplaced upside down on the holder 105 with four of the corresponding pins109 extending upwardly through the apertures 73 as best seen in FIG. 16so that the top assembly 67 and continuous side 45 are held correctly inplace with edge portion 69 abutting edges 37, 37' ready to beheatsealed. The holder 105 is preferably removable from the apparatus110 so that the above-described loading operation of the continuous side45 and the top assembly 67 can be accomplished away from the machine ifdesired. Then, the holder 105 which is formed of a suitable material toconduct the radiofrequency is placed on the lower base 119 whereby theradiofrequency can travel up to the edge 107 and when the upperelectrode 121 is brought downwardly on top of the edge portion 69,radiofrequency can travel through the edge portion 69 and through thecontinuous side 45 adjacent the upper edges 37, 37 to cause heat-sealingalong the line The electrode 121 is preferably flat and of a shape inplan generally like upper edge 107 but of a small enough size so that itwill fit down on top of the edge 107 and miss pins 109 in traveling tothe downward position as shown in broken lines in FIG. 13. Theadvantages of providing an edge portion 69, in stead of having thepieces 27 and 29 extend to the edge of piece 31, can be appreciated whenit is considered that it is not necessary to set the output of theradiofrequency so high as would be necessary if there were heatsealingthrough pieces 27, 29, 3 and 41. In addition, if there were heat-sealingthrough these four components the sealing could not be uniform due tovariations in thicknesses, whereas with only edge portion 69 to besealed to side 41 these two thicknesses can be controlled and a uniformseal can be obtained.

After the covering 13 is heat-sealed as above-described, it is turnedright side outward, binding 23 is applied to the lower edge of side 45,and covering 13 is placed over base 15 with pad 17 disposed between thecovering and the base. Finally, the covering 13 is fixedly attached tothe base 15 by the rivets in a well-known manner and by well-knownapparatus.

Although the invention has been described in some detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity or understanding, it isto be understood that it is not to be so limited since changes andmodifications may be made therein which are within the full intendedscope of this invention as hereinafter claimed.

lclaim:

1. A bicycle seat comprising a rigid base, a continuous side of plastic,a top assembly including a toppiece of flexible plastic, said toppieceadjacent the periphery thereof being heat-sealed bonded to said sideadjacent the upper edge thereof to provide a covering, and rivet meansattaching said side to said base; said toppiece being formed of alightweight vinyl, and said side being formed of a supported vinylstiffer and heavier than the vinyl of said toppiece.

2. A bicycle seat comprising a rigid base, a continuous side of plastic,a top assembly including a toppiece of flexible plastic, said toppieceadjacent the periphery thereof being heat-sealed bonded to said sideadjacent the upper edge thereof to provide a covering, and rivet meansattaching said side to said base; said toppiece being formed of alightweight vinyl, and said side being formed of a supported vinylstiffer and heavier than the vinyl of said toppiece; said top assemblyin addition to said toppiece including a vinyl backup piece and quiltingmedium piece, and said toppiece, said backup piece and said quiltingmedium piece are heat-seal bonded together along spaced-apart lines.

1. A bicycle seat comprising a rigid base, a continuous side of plastic,a top assembly including a toppiece of flexible plastic, said toppieceadjacent the periphery thereof being heat-sealed bonded to said sideadjacent the upper edge thereof to provide a covering, and rivet meansattaching said side to said base; said toppiece being formed of alightweight vinyl, and said side being formed of a supported vinylstiffer and heavier than the vinyl of said toppiece.
 2. A bicycle seatcomprising a rigid base, a continuous side of plastic, a top assemblyincluding a toppiece of flexible plastic, said toppiece adjacent theperiphery thereof being heat-sealed bonded to said side adjacent theupper edge thereof to provide a covering, and rivet means attaching saidside to said base; said toppiece being formed of a lightweight vinyl,and said side being formed of a supported vinyl stiffer and heavier thanthe vinyl of said toppiece; said top assembly in addition to saidtoppiece including a vinyl backup piece and quilting medium piece, andsaid toppiece, said backup piece and said quilting medium piece areheat-seal bonded together along spaced-apart lines.